ACCORDING to figures released by CySTAT, the number of building permits issued in January fell to 555 compared with the 638 issued in January 2011; a fall of 13%.
In January, building permits were issued for:
- Residential buildings – 376 permits
- Non-residential buildings – 99 permits
- Civil engineering projects – 34 permits
- Division of plots of land – 42 permits
- Road construction – 4 permits
The total value of these permits reached €125.4 million and their total area 127.1 thousand square metres.
Residential buildings
In January, the 398 permits were approved for the construction of 468 residential properties comprising 304 single houses and 164 multiple housing units (such as apartments and other residential complexes).
This is a fall of 40.5% compared with January 2011 when building permits were issued for the construction of 916 dwellings and the slowdown is likely to continue until the number of unsold apartments and houses is reduced.
According to the Cyprus Statistical Service, building permits constitute a leading indicator of future activity in the construction sector.
VAT exemption announced
In an effort to stimulate the Island’s construction industry the VAT Service announced today that there will be a VAT exemption for goods and services provided for the construction or maintenance of buildings from the 9th March. The exemption will only apply to VAT registered companies.
@mbEyes – contractors will pass on the saving to their customers by not charging them VAT.
The government doesn’t have any money to give away. The deficit for January – February is estimated at €202.5 million (1.09% of GDP) compared to €199.8 million in the first two months of 2011.
The omens are not good and the government may be forced to introduce new fiscal consolidation measures.
Am I missing something here but if the VAT exemption only applies to VAT registered businesses supplying goods and services to the construction industry, then that makes no difference at all to company revenues nor to VAT received by Government.
Surely to make any difference and stimulate the sector, the exemption has to apply to the sale of land/property to consumers, who are not VAT registered.
Either I am missing something or the Government have introduced what is in effect a PR gimmick having no effect on the market.
Funny that I waited months to get the final permits for a house I’m building. When I contacted the Larnaca office told me they were very busy!
Let’s hope that some of this reduction is due to the message on Title Deeds getting through more effectively.